Dark World
by True Love's Kis5
Summary: In a world that Castiel doesn't know, one with Wendigoes, monsters, and even demons, he has no way out. But why does everyone seem to think he's the price of some castle he's never even heard of, and who is the trickster? Castiel learns very fast that this world has rules, and learning to play by them is the only way to survive.
1. Wonderland

The heat of the air held thickly around Castiel. It was a dry sort of heat that made the hairs on the back of his neck raise freely, without the weight of sweat. The winds only added to the heat, beating against his face and whipping his dark hair messily into knots and tangles.

He'd never thought of the place he lived as beautiful, but if he looked hard enough at his surroundings, it wasn't impossible to see. He lived in a large bowl of mountains that silhouetted his gray city lazily. In the winter those mountains would be tipped with the beginnings of snow, but it never snowed inside the city itself. There was rarely any change in the seasons at all; even during the summer when the winds blew hard and strong, the hard dirt never strayed.

There was never any grass unless it was forcefully planted there, and the trees that grew were hard and crooked, but he couldn't truly hate the place. It was true that it was only a short drive from sin city, and sometimes he felt cut off from the world in his little bowl of purple mountains, but it wasn't all terrible.

At present he was sitting on the rugged bark of one of the few trees. The trees in his backyard were easy to hold onto and when the heat became unbearable he would climb as high as he could until the wind shook him hard and made him cool.

They had never fallen, these trees. Cas was never worried that they would because he wasn't afraid falling. He found heights exhilarating and often found himself wishing that he was an angel from one of Michael's stories.

Cas inched forward on the branch that hung over the breach of his father's property. If he was feeling brave he could crawl onto those thinner branches and find himself at Kali's house. That was dangerous depending on how brittle the branches were, but he sometimes did it anyway.

Kali and Castiel hadn't always been very good friends, but the two of them had always been grouped together. They were both quiet-though Kali had sort of an intimidating version of silence while his was more awkward-so of course the two were coupled together. There had even been rumors that they were dating, which Castiel had always been confused by. Kali was too intimidating for him to imagine dating.

She was beautiful, though. From over the wall he could see Kali sitting on a wooden bench, feet hanging over the mucky gray of her underground pool. It wasn't the pool's fault, really; it was only reflecting the state of the murky sky.

Cas leaned forward a bit and waved at her absently, hoping that she would see him. Instead, he lost his balance momentarily and only held his place by grabbing onto a higher branch.

Kali didn't say anything, either because she didn't' see him or because she didn't deem him worth a response.

Castiel took a tighter grip on the branch that he was sitting on and pushed through the abundant leaves, hoping with all of his heart that the branch didn't snap. If the wall was eight feet tall, the branch was even taller, and while he wasn't afraid of falling, he thought Kali might laugh.

He crawled forward, light on his feet, until the branch was so flimsy that it would be unsafe to proceed. Then, holding a heavy breath, pulled himself onto the brick wall. The branch snapped as soon as pushed off of it, and Cas had to smile. That could have been his body falling through the cedar branches.

Cas let himself fall from the wall down into her property. "Hello, Kali," he greeted her quietly. Kali could be temperamental at times, so he always tried to be silent.

Kali looked up from her red drink. Castiel never asked what was in those glasses because he wasn't sure he wanted to know. "Go away," she stated stiffly. The Indian girl was often like that. She didn't really mean to be rude, Castiel knew. It just gave him a pang in his chest; a kind of insecurity.

Kali's eyebrows were furrowed together lightly, her eyes narrowed across from the page of the book that she held just a bit too tightly. Cas knew that expression, he was wary. "What's wrong?"

Instead of going away like she'd suggested, Cas took a few steps forwards and sat next to her on the swinging bench-chair. The air of Summer was stronger here, with Kali's cropped red shirt and the noticeable lack of his trench coat. He missed it, the baggy coat made him feel comfortable.

Kali looked over at him judgmentally and said "your friends are idiots."

"Is that what is wrong?" He asked. Maybe his friends were a little bit strange, but he didn't think that they were idiots. Jo and Balthazar could certainly be a little bit crazier than he was, but they weren't stupid. Or at least Jo wasn't.

Kali's thumb absently brushed against the page of her book and she shut it lightly, putting it to her left before looking at Castiel for the first time. "I didn't think that you were one of them, Castiel?"

"An idiot?" he asked. That he couldn't say anything about. His father was certainly vocal about the subject.

"Yes," she snapped, some of the inner ferocity showing in the browns of her eyes. "You're doing something very, very stupid Castiel. Even more idiotic to think you'd be doing it without me."

Cas' blue eyes narrowed only for a moment before he said "I suppose it would not be consequential if you came as well. I would have to ask Crowley to make you a fake ID, however, and he charges ridiculous amounts."

Kali brushed the sweat from her brow and sweapt a thick curl over her shoulder. "Castiel, if we get into trouble, I will be the one to kill you."

Castiel gave her a very small smile, which was a huge thing for someone who so rarely smiled.

"I mean it, Castiel," Kali hissed. "If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me."

"I never doubted that for a second."

Castiel couldn't remember how Jo and Balthazar had gotten him to do this. It wasn't as if Cas actually wanted to get into a casino with a fake ID. It was unlike him to do something so illegal. Sure, Jo had gotten him to smoke pot once, but he'd been unaware of the side-effects and hadn't liked it much at all.

Now he was sitting in his red kitchen, holding onto the arm of his chair tightly as he lied to his father. His alibi was that he was spending a weekend over at Balthazar's house for a bit of harmless fun. He was sure that Balt, however, had nothing harmless in mind. Alcohol, gambling, everything that Cas found excessive.

"I don't like that kid," growled his father. "He's a bad influence on you.

"Dad," replied Cas lightly. "We won't get into any trouble. I promise that I will call you every hour if you want me to."

The young man pursed his lips together and shook his head. "Fine. But if you get into any trouble at all, I won't bail you out of jail."

Cas smiled. It seemed that Michael was in a good mood. That was a rarity in itself. "Thank you, dad."

Michael wasn't actually his father, but he'd been told to call him that so many times that he didn't want to call him anything else anymore. Cas wasn't stupid and he didn't want to get hit with another belt.

The two of them shared a couple more words as his heart beat faster and faster. He could barely wait until Michael finally left. When he did, it was only to take a phone call, but Cas was glad.

He flattened his palm against the tabletop when he finally walked away, relieved. Then he fished the phone out of his pocket and quietly texted Balthazar.

11:16 AM 3/16/14 Castiel Novak: I don't know how you got me into this.

A few minutes later he got a response.

11:21 AM 3/16/14 Sebastian Balthazar: Love you too, Cassie.

At that moment, it seemed that he would never miss the peeling red paint of the kitchen or the creaky chairs, the feeling of his heart beating out of his chest as he'd lied to his father.

It soon became the only thing that he thought about.

The next notable moment was when Balthazar was driving them to the depths of Las Vegas. Jo looked nonchalant, Balthazar insane, Kali stoic with her arms crossed. Cas had to wonder what he looked like.

His hands were clutching the sides of his seat as Balt zipped around traffic, biting his lip as they nearly crashed into the car to their right.

It wasn't long before he could see large buildings zipping by. Bridges of people rose over his head and while they were beautiful, it made him nervous. This was not where he belonged.

He was still in his bowl of mountains, though. The air burned him just by the touch, and that brought him back to reality. He was still in the same place, in the same world, and he had to remind himself that he would be perfectly fine.

It wasn't that he was a naturally insecure person; he just wasn't sure that he fully trusted Balthazar.

Eventually they stopped at a huge black building, but Castiel wanted to get back onto the road. Though he found beauty in the more rural parts of Vegas, where he lived, he saw none in these large, glamorous buildings. Instead of beauty, he saw gluttony and lust; the sins of the people who spent too much time there.

He must have looked disdainful, because Balt who had already exited the car said "c'mon, Cassie, it'll be fun!"

Cas could see the mayonnaise sky, the metal, shiny buildings, the black tower of the luxor, but he couldn't see fun anywhere. He wasn't sure how Balthazar could say that so surely, as if he could see fun like it was some kind of building in the distance.

He didn't answer and instead headed to the back of the group with Kali who was glaring at him. "Yes, Castiel. It'll be fun. Keep going."

Cas shot her back a glare of his own and followed the others into the "Flamingo" casino. He'd never understood why they called it that. It did not resemble a flamingo in any way.

The smell inside was of heavy smoke and Castiel had to wonder why he loved the taste of it on his tongue. The carpet underfoot was tacky, the walls painted with golden monuments and carvings of women. It wasn't attractive in any way, like most casinos, but he knew that he wasn't there to criticize the wallpaper.

They walked up to several tables full of poker chips and Cas waited there while several of his friends went to go buy drinks with their fake ID's. It was silent for a while; no one talked to him. He wasn't really the kind of person that people were entranced by.

Then Balthazar came prancing back with two drinks. He immediately handed Cas one, which he took reluctantly.

Cas probably should have suspected something when he first took the drink, or at least he should have refused. But he'd been feeling detached from Baltahzar lately, and stupid or not, he decided that something like this might help him sow the gap together.

That was when things started to get really, really weird.

Things kept flashing in and out, but Cas remembered something about a girl. She was beautiful with brown hair and big, wide-set eyes.

He remembered drinking more than was acceptable, even gambling until he had no money left. He remembered doing things that could have gotten him arrested while Balthazar cheered him on and Kali watched him with judging brown eyes. That was when his memory lapsed.

He couldn't remember if he'd slept with the girl, he didn't even remember where he was when he woke up in the morning. He just blacked out like a firecracker, knowing very well that he'd regret it in the morning.

He was also very sure that Balthazar had drugged him that first drink.

…

Maybe Cas expected to wake up in jail, or next to the beautiful woman that he vaguely remembered from the night before. Either way, he didn't want to open his eyes to face the headache that was bound to experience as soon as the light hit his pupils.

Instead, he put his hand down on the ground just under his fingertips. There was a type of cloth, but it didnt' feel like his bed. If he moved his hand from over the cloth, there was a wet feeling like some kind of flower or plant.

He immediately pulled his hand back up, sure that he'd been dipping his fingers in a pot of flowers. Then again, he had no idea where he'd managed to get to sleep. They'd booked a hotel, but Cas couldn't remember getting back there.

Finally curious enough, Cas opened his eyes, sitting up slowly as he did so. He didn't see the bars of a jail cell, or the long brown hair of April Smith-or he was pretty sure that was her name. He was sure of the April part.

No, he was on a blanket like some sort of twisted picnic, placed upon long strings of grass. He wasn't sure if this was some kind of joke or what, but he could feel something behind his head, watching him.

When he turned around, there was a man with big amber eyes staring at him without blinking. "Heya, Cassie. Nice to see you again." His voice was sarcastic, but Cas couldn't for the life of him, imagine why.

In the dark, whoever was talking to him was far more menacing than he should have been. He shivered and pushed himself backwards. Cas was very, very sure that he'd never met this man in his life. He felt like he was in "The Hangover," or maybe Alice in Wonderland. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've met. Where am I?"

Wherever it was, it was dark. The only part he could see of the speaker was his almost glowing amber eyes. He could have been the cheshire cat for all that Cas knew. He was scared for the first time in a long time.

he took in a breath and looked up at the sky. There were stars. Millions dotting the horizon, but not ones that he knew.

Las Vegas had so much pollution that you could only see stars on a very clear night and even then, not as many as he could see then. Wherever he was, it wasn't home. "I'm not in Kansas anymore, am I?"


	2. Welcome to Dark World

The cold chilled Castiel to the bone marrow, the harsh winds practically shooting through his skin. There was something about the darkness that made everything seem more ominous. The wind was like the howling wolves of the night and the trees were tall men staring at him with night-shaded eyes.

The boy next to him was sharp as a razor and his eyes were that of a cat's. It wasn't his words that really bothered Cas, or the fact that his voice was as childish as an infant. It was the setting that made Cas wary of him.

"Where the hells is Kansas?" asked the boy, sounding amused. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice that sounded misplaced.

It was possible that those words scared Castiel more than anything he'd seen that day. Wherever he was, this boy didnt' know where Kansas was. Surely he couldn't have gotten out of the country so quickly? Most likely was that this kid was on drugs or he was being messed with. Those were the only explanations that made sense.

After a long pause, Cas took in a short breath and regained his composure. "How do you know my name?" he asked seriously. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer, though. What he did want to know was where Balt, Jo, and Kali were. He really hoped that he hadn't gotten them into any sort of trouble.

"Did you get a sense of humor or did Dean-o put you up to it?" asked the boy with a short, sarcastic laugh.

Now that Cas' eyes had adjusted to the moonlight a bit better, he could see the outline of a face. The eyes didn't belong to a child, but instead a man who was at least 20 years of age. Despite this, he was sporting a childish pout.

"Okay," he started again. "Well if you're John Doe, I'm the Trickster." He acted like it was an inside joke, but his face had shifted to accommodate his fake grin.

Cas personally thought that whoever this man was, he was absolutely terrifying; especially in the dark. That name also wasn't helping put down his anxiety. The grass was wet underneath his fingertips, crunching at his every worried movement. "Okay," he started slowly. "Trickster, tell me where we are immediately."

"Oh come on, Cassie," moaned the trickster, standing up as if this were a perfectly normal situation. He put his hand around Cas' cheeks and squeezed. "Are you high?"

"No," said Cas, blinking. "I do not believe so." He was starting to wonder if he still was, however. He didn't think that this was a normal kind of drug-induced hallucination, but his mind couldn't seem to grasp onto what was going on. Under his breath he added "anymore."

Cas didn't catch any more glimpses of concern, but he had a feeling that they were hiding underneath the Trickster's carefully crafted mask. "Dad is gonna kill you and it's going to be -hilarious.-"

The trickster said 'dad' like for some reason thought that Cas was his brother. "I do not know who you are," said Cas slowly. "But I would like to get back home. Not to Kansas. To Las Vegas, please."

The Trickster just raised his eyebrows and said "Cassie, did you take a bonker to the head?"

"That is not my name-," started Cas, but he was quickly cut off.

"Yeah, but Castiel sounds like some kind of fairy princess."

Castiel quickly decided that he didn't like this guy. "I believe I will find my own way back. Thank you for your help." He took a step backwards, hoping that this would be easy and he could simply leave.

It wasn't that easy. The Trickster grabbed onto his wrist with a kind of angry smile. Castiel's heart beat through his wrist was so fast that it was almost like the blood was trying to escape from his body. He was terrified, even though it didn't show through his face.

Cas tried to jerk away, but the Trickster was faster and he managed to grab Cas' other hand. In a fit of his own clumsiness, they both fell to the ground.

The Trickster struggled to keep him down. "You're high as a kite," he decided. "I don't know how the hells mr. Goody-two-shoes got high, but we're homebound."

"I assure you, I am not." Cas was struggling hard now. "I am not who you think I am." He didn't know how to get away from the Trickster, he was stronger than Cas was, despite his small size.

Cas suddenly had a plan. It wasn't pleasant, but in the heat of the moment, it sounded like the only sensible thing to do.

He bit into The Trickster's arm. Blood welled from the teeth marks and as Cas expected, he cursed and let go.

Castiel took in one deep breath to calm himself and decide what to do next. Then he used the distraction to run as far as he could into the dark woods.

He wasn't used to trees; not really. These weren't like the ones around his house. They weren't hard and tall; they were deep brown against the pale moonlight as he sprinted. He would have found the woods beautiful if he didn't see horrible faces in the shadows.

Theories coursed through his brain as he rushed through the grass and leaves on the ground. He thought that the Trickster must have been some kind of gang name, and he was probably taken to wherever this place was as a joke.

Castiel was breathing hard by the time he stopped, and he decided that the tall, thick tree was a good place to sit under. He didnt' cry, instead he just thought about what he was going to do next. He was lost in the woods where something was bound to eat him, or some gang member named the Trickster could roast him for dinner if he wanted to.

Cas couldn't find a good solution for this, but he was perfectly silent. And in that silence, he somehow managed to find sleep. Maybe it was because he was still hoping this was all a drug-induced dream and when he woke up he'd be laying next to April Smith with a hangover, ready to kill Balthazar for whatever he'd drugged him with.

He didnt' wake up next to April Smith, but the forest was a lot prettier in the morning. The light shifted through the leaves, yellow and encrusted gold. The ground, dappled with leaves itself, was imprinted with the sun's markings through the trees. He might have stayed there for a long while to gather his wits if he hadn't heard footsteps.

He didn't know who or what the footsteps were from; just that whoever they were, they weren't trying to be stealthy. The leaves crunched with the sounds of Autumn, so he knew that they were coming closer. He didn't know how to be any quieter than whoever was coming. Las Vegas had never had a real Autumn. He'd never had to step on fallen leaves.

So if they were going to make noise, so was he. Castiel quickly ripped a branch from the nearest tree and held it towards where he was sure the noises were coming from.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

He realized too late that the noises weren't coming from the direction that he'd thought they were. Maybe that was the trap.

Something poked roughly at his back; Cas guessed that it probably wasn't a stick. "Who the hell are you?" growled the voice.

Cas took a deep breath. Even when he was very young, he'd always been very intellectual in bad situations. He decided that the best thing to do just then was to freeze and make as little movements as possible.

After a few moments he took in a deep breath and put his hands up before turning around. "I could ask you the same."

The assaulting man was taller than him. Cas knew that he wouldn't be able to take him in a fight. It wasn't that Cas was very skinny; he'd always been on track team. It was that the man had a gun and looked like he'd been in a few fights.

To Cas' surprise the man just wrapped his arms around him. "Cas, man, you freaked the hell out of us. Gabe said that you ran into the forest last night. We were sure the Wendigoes were gonna get you."

Cas shivered under the unfamiliar arms. He had no idea what the taller man was trying to say, but for his own sanity, he didn't ask. He was already confused about what was going on. Instead he just asked "why are you squeezing me with your body?"

"It's called a hug, Cas," said the green-eyed man, sounding amused. "Gabe said you were on some kind of acid trip. Must be good stuff if you're still out of it."

That was a possibility, but Cas found it unlikely. He had no idea who this man was, or who Gabriel was for that matter. It was likely that he was referencing the trickster, though since he was the only person that Cas had talked to the day before.

Dean stood there awkwardly for a moment before saying "come on, Cas. Are you waiting for a whistle or something?"

Cas followed Dean silently. He really wasn't a fighter, but he knew very well how to. He'd gotten Uriel to train him in martial arts to learn how to protect himself from his father. He'd never gotten the right opportunity to do so, but he was sure that today was the day to use those skills.

He first lagged behind a bit as they began to walk. Dean was talking about more things that Cas didn't understand, but he zoned that all out, instead thinking hard about what he was about to do.

He took a look at the man's hand wrapped loosely around the gun, and with a short breath, lunged forward, ripping the gun out of his grasp. They both bowled over to the ground, but Cas landed on top of Dean. He put the gun on Dean's head. "Now you're going to tell me what I need to know."

Cas, surprisingly, felt no panic at holding a gun to someone.

Dean's eyes darkened. "That's not loaded."

Cas kept the gun held to Dean's head for a moment as if somehow it would load itself, but he knew it wouldn't.

It was almost as if Dean had known what Cas was going to do; like he'd expected it. Almost like he'd known Cas. Because he might have shot Dean, he hadn't been bluffing.

Castiel sighed and pushed the gun away. "That was a lapse in judgement. I still need information."

"Dammit, Cas," grumbled Dean, taking his gun back. "You could have just asked, you know. I don't bite. Usually."

The dappled leaves and charts of lights didn't look so beautiful anymore. Cas wondered if that was what time did to things. It didn't make anything less beautiful, but eventually nothing looked spectacular to the human eye. Maybe that was why old people were so sad. Or maybe it was that he was too busy to look around.

"Why does everyone here know my name?" was the first of his questions.

"Because," said Dean. "You've lived here forever and you're the prince, dude…"

"I don't believe that is accurate," said Castiel. "I am a junior in Highschool. Hardly anyone that important."

Dean was clearly starting to wonder if this really was just an acid trip, or if there was something wrong with his friend.

"I have two more questions," said Castiel. "Who is the Trickster?"

"Gabriel," said Dean, shaking his head. "He's kind of a douche, but he's your brother, so we deal with it."

Each piece of information made him more and more confused, but he was going to keep asking questions to try to put the puzzle pieces together. "Where am I?"

"Heaven," said Dean, rolling his eyes. He watched Cas lazily, crossing his arms.

Cas' eyes grew wider and then he blanked his face of emotion. "I am dead?"

"No, idiot," said Dean with a tight laugh. "It's a Kingdom called Heaven." He roughly grabbed Castiel's arm and tried to pull him forwards. "Your dad sent out people to find you. He's gonna be pissed."

Cas didn't ask any more questions. He just let things happen.

A/N: The reason I re-posted this is because I accidentally deleted it. I wanted to let you know (to anyone who is reading this) that I'm going to try to start writing this story again. I'm going to need as much encouragement as I can get so reviews are SUPER appreciated. Thanks! I hope you enjoy the re-write of both chapters.


	3. The Color Purple

When Castiel had thought of castles, he'd always thought of gold and silver, dragons and Camelot. He certainly hadn't thought of a stone mansion on top of a quiet, quaint lake with a stone bridge to connect it to the real world. It was too beautiful to describe with human words and he felt he needed instead the words of an angel.

It was brighter outside than it had been before, and the lake shone with the sunrise of early morning, yellow and gold. The stones were a duller kind of beauty, but he loved them all the same. It was much different from what he was used to.

Dean walked beside him, not letting him get too far ahead or behind. He wasn't stupid and he'd learned from the last time. "Think your dad'll give me the ransom?"

"He is not my father," reminded Castiel. He had no clue why anyone would think that he was the prince, but he had no place to sleep, and he could think of no better place than a castle. "But I am sure that he will give you the ransom, if he thinks I am who he is looking for."

"Cool," said Dean, squeezing his lips together in a way that Cas thought was ridiculous. Then he started humming some high-pitched song as he walked to the beat.

Cas still didn't know what was going on, but he was hoping that he could find a phone when he got to the palace. He had to call Kali, Jo, and Balthazar to ask them what happened and make sure that they were alright.

After a few moments of silence except Dean's humming, they got to the edge of the palace where a grand door was sitting musically in the entrance. He couldn't see inside but he was sure that the interior would be just as grand as what he'd seen so far.

Dean knocked hard on the palace door and the door opened. At first Cas thought that it had been unlocked, but then he saw the girl behind the door, opening it.

Dean gave the girl a look that Cas didn't understand and said "do you have a sunburn? Or are you always this hot?"

Cas realized what was happening before Dean did. He had no idea how Kali got to the castle, or why she was opening the door, but he was also pretty sure that Dean was going to get his ass kicked.

"No," was all that Kali said.

Dean blinked. That must not have been a usual response from girls. "Yeah, I was just..."

"I understand," said Kali cooly. "And no."

Cas offered Kali one of his very rare smiles and was instantly filled with joy. He had been worried that Kali might be hurt, but it seemed that she was unharmed and as wry as ever.

"Where are Jo and Balthazar?" asked Castiel, his smile disappearing as he realized that they were nowhere in sight. One of his friends was alive and well, but he was unsure about the others.

Kali just shook her head. "I don't know and I don't care. Where are we, Castiel?"

Cas was instantly disappointed. He was sure that she would know what was going on. She hadn't been as inebriated as he was. "I am unsure," he told her with a sigh. "I was hoping that you would."

Dean watched them with an incredulous expression.

Kali looked over to the grand stairway, her brown eyes echoed with hints of the gold that surrounded her. Cas didn't think he'd ever seen her without makeup, but she still had a warm glow to her soft skin.

"Stop staring," she said curtly. "Follow me."

Cas looked back at Dean who was being strangely silent, and who had a tense expression on his face. "You know that chick?"

Cas, who did "know that chick," followed her up the grand staircase. It spiraled in a way that Cas thought was unnecessary, but the higher off of the ground he got, the more of the small palace he could see.

The walls themselves were not extravagant. They were white with blue, painted designs, but there were expensive paintings adorning every wall and golden vases expressed the top of the tables made of a silver metal. It was not simple, but he found it as beautiful as if he'd designed it himself. There weren't too many stairs and he soon found himself at the top of them.

In the large, cream colored room, sat the man who would be King. He wasn't handsome, but he was unusual looking. He reminded Cas of his own father before he'd died.

The Trickster was watching who Cas assumed to be the King with an unusually solemn face, as if he were trying to be as Kingly as the King, but was failing miserably. He ran his fingers through his brown hair and said in a light-hearted tone "Cassie's gone bonkers."

Now that Cas knew that Gabriel wasn't some kind of gang member trying to deceive him, he realized the situation a bit better. Clearly "The Trickster" was a Prince, but Cas still had no idea why they thought that he was as well. He was a high school Junior with a mediocre grade point average.

"I would like to object to that statement."

Gabriel turned around as if startled, but he somehow made it look flamboyant. "Hey! There's the mad hatter!"

"I do not believe I am insane," grumbled Castiel.

Gabriel gave him an incredulous look and laughed in a high pitch. "Bitch, please."

"I think there has been a misunderstanding," asserted Castiel. "I am nothing remarkable."

While Gabriel came up with a response to that, the King watched him with a small, sheepish smile that Cas thought was extremely unkingly. He twisted a golden ring on his finger in what seemed like anxiety-if Cas hadn't known any better- and said "Well-um-I guess not really."

Gabriel pressed his lips together but didn't say anything to defend Cas.

Castiel nodded quickly and took a step forward, tapping on his jeans with his finger. "Yes. Do you know who I am, Mr…"

"Chuck," filled in the King.

"Mr. Chuck," finished Cas.

Chuck's eyes darted around and he said "Gabe, would you mind leaving the room? Castiel and I need to," he paused suddenly "need to talk."

Gabriel shrugged with one shoulder and rolled his maple-syrup eyes. He seemed annoyed at first, but soon a fake smile rose to his face. "Only if servant girl comes with me."

"Servant girl," or Kali, glared at him in a way that made Cas sure that Gabriel was going on her hit list.

"Um-sure," said Chuck in a high-pitched voice. "Can you leave? Please?"

Kali glared at Gabriel one last time before walking off with him. Cas was fairly sure that he was never going to see the Trickster again.

Chuck cleared his throat once they were gone. There was an air of nervosity emanating from the King; it wasn't something that Cas would expect from a King, but he didn't think much of it just then. He just wanted to get answers. Where was he?

Cas turned his head to Chuck, but just as he was about to speak, Chuck said "I-I may have messed up."

"What do you mean?" asked Cas, tilting his head.

"You're not my um…" he stopped abruptly again "my son."

"I noticed," agreed Cas, beckoning him to keep talking. It was like pulling a string to get information out of him. Things kept getting stuck in his throat.

"Well I," Chuck giggled nervously "I was casting a spell to look at other dimensions and I may have accidentally sent my son there and you…"

"The existence of magic is highly illogical," Cas informed him.

"Well it doesn't exist in your dimension," said Chuck, swallowing hard. "And that's where I accidentally put my son."

"Suppose I believe you," said Castiel. "That means that your Castiel is in my dimension and I am in his?"

"Um," started Chuck "I guess that's pretty much it. Yeah."

Gabriel hadn't really left the room. Kali had walked out with him, but instead of walking down the stairs with her, he immediately fled back towards the room and put his ear to the door.

Kali told him that he was an idiot and promptly did the same thing as he was doing, the only difference being that she couldn't hear anything and he apparently could because he hissed "well color me purple and call me Celie."

She looked back at him, narrowing her eyes. "What?"

Gabriel just leaned against the door with a raised eyebrow as if he'd heard the strangest news in his life. "How about this, servant girl. I buy you a drink."

Kali thought about this for a moment. "No."

"A martini?" tried Gabriel. "You seem like a martini girl."

Kali paused and tried to talk herself out of it. "...It'd better be a good martini."


End file.
